"That's my boy, Sparky. He's a little older now but just as gorgeous.
He has protein intolerances and the usual dalmatian urate crystal issues in the bladder, so needs a low purine diet. So, your website and products are invaluable to us, epecially as the previous food the vet told us to use to reduce his crystals is now unavailable.
So whilst we can no longer reduce his crystals we can limit his intake of purines to limit their development whilst keeping him clear of nasty meat proteins."
Thank you Keven 💚
Why are our foods ideal for dogs like Sparky needing a low purine diet?
What Are Purines and Why Do They Matter?
Purines are natural compounds found in food that break down into uric acid in the body. While most dogs can eliminate this through the liver, certain breeds notably Dalmatians like Sparky have a genetic mutation that causes them to excrete uric acid through the kidneys instead.
This increases the risk of urinary stones and bladder crystals, which can become dangerous or even life-threatening.
The top purine-producing foods are meat, offal and oily fish so please avoid a raw food diet at ALL costs!
A complete plant-based diet diet will mean less purines in their system, as well as being naturally alkalinising to the urine. We immediately have less concern about urate stones forming and affecting your dog’s urinary tract health.
The German brands that we import such as Green Crunch and Greta are actively mentioned as being adapted to dogs with a low purine diet. Both have no soya and the right choice of plant proteins and the right protein level.
ALL of the complete diets that we stock are low in purine.
If home cooking using our Just be Kind home cooking supplement and Omega 3 Algae oil, then do not add any spinach or swiss chard to your dog’s diet as these contain oxalates. Cauliflower and asparagus contain moderate amounts of oxalates so avoid these too.
We can see how a natural plant-based diet is one of the most supportive natural diets for dogs with kidney disease, or needing a low purine diet. 💚
I have been prompted to write about the treatment of Leishmaniasis below as I received this message below from Cassie the Pointer rescue's Mum:
"I couldn’t face opening my heart to another dog, having lost a Dalmatian to a brain tumour, when Cassie the Cyprus rescue thankfully joined me.
I was aware from the start that she had leishmaniasis and was on long-term medication being allopurinol. This particular drug as you will know needs to be fed in conjunction with a low purine diet.
Plant based foods that are grain free and soya free fit the bill perfectly, and indeed the Greta food does state suitable for dogs with leishmaniasis. Cassie has been fed Microbell and I have bought some Solo Vegetal for her as a change.
I have also joined a Facebook group called Living with Leish, and I’m regularly seeing requests from other owners asking for recommendations for low purine diets.
I have placed comments suggesting owners look at plant-based dog foods and have recommended they look on the Just be Kind website to educate themselves and perhaps try this kind of a diet.
I was very surprised when I joined the Facebook group at how many infected dogs from endemic countries are in the UK, and also in other countries where this disease is not prevalent, and just how many dogs who had tested negative prior to travelling and later (some of whom, years later), tested positive for this awful parasite.
It would be great to be able to signpost people to your website and for them to be able to find an answer to their query, and also to be able to purchase a diet suited to the dog’s condition.
I hope you will consider the above as I am reading posts from numerous owners who are not diet aware, and whose dogs are struggling with xanthine crystals. Many thanks in advance Anthea"
Absolutely Anthea and thank you for prompting me to write this article as I agree that Leishmaniasis is an awful parasite and so many wonderful rescue dogs coming from warm climates are affected.
What is Leishmaniasis?
Leishmania is a unicellular organism that is transmitted by sand flies. They bite and infect dogs in warmer climates (usually Mediterranean regions).
We tend to see Leishmaniasis in dogs rescued from abroad and brought in from warm climates to the UK or Ireland. People in Germany tend to rescue dogs from Costa Rica and Greece which is why we stock the imported low purine dry dog foods made by the highly ethical companies VegDog and Vegan4Dogs.
What can I do to prevent my dogs getting Leishmaniasis?
Use sandfly prevention if travelling abroad with your dogs to affected areas. This may come in the form of a repellent collar called Stronghold, or a spot on treatment. There are vaccines that are given on an annual basis for dogs living in endemic areas, but they don’t prevent infections.
Rather, they result in the appropriate immune response to manage the condition better- therefore should still be used in combination with an insect repellant. It’s also key to minimise exposure to sandflies - avoid leaving your dog outside at dusk and dawn, in wooded areas, particularly during warm seasons.
Keep them indoors with you at night, shut windows and doors, and use insect nets for yourself and your dogs.
The clinical signs and severity of Leishmania can vary, and it can take months to over a year before you notice it as a problem in your dog. Leishmania can spread bodywide- affecting everything from skin, nails, bone marrow, kidneys, liver and spleen to name a few examples – which means the symptoms can be hugely variable.
Some dogs get scabby pads, faces and bleeding noses, whilst others progress to more serious symptoms of kidney disease: drinking and urinating excessively, weight loss and vomiting.
These dogs need to be treated and the most common form of treatment is a drug called Allopurinol (a human medication for people with gout)
The side effect of Allopurinol is that it affects purine metabolism. It can result in painful urate stones being formed that can block your dog’s bladder or urinary tract. Allopurinol is the drug that is pertinent to a low purine diet but in the event of a Leishmania flare-up, it is necessary to use it in conjunction with Milteforan syrup or Glucantime injections
A low purine diet is the best diet of choice for dogs being treated for Leishmaniasis with these medications, as well as Dalmatians like Sparky also needing a low purine diet for life (and we have such choice at Just Be Kind of best soya-free wet foods, premium dry foods and even the tastiest variety of treats with Chevvies being Sparky's particular favourites!)
